International Medical Corps has deployed a mobile medical team to Sulaymaniyah, Iraq after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck along the Iran-Iraq border on November 12. The medical team is comprised of personnel experienced in emergency medicine and includes one doctor, two nurses, and one pharmacist.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by this powerful earthquake. We have already deployed a mobile medical team to provide lifesaving care to survivors in and around Sulaymaniyah, and we stand ready to deploy additional medical staff if needed,” said Bogdan Dumitru, International Medical Corps’ Country Director in Iraq. “We are coordinating with local and national health officials to identify additional ways we might be able to support relief efforts.”
The medical team carried enough medical supplies to Sulaymaniyah to assist 1,000 people, with additional supplies ready to be sent as required.
The most powerful to hit the region in years, the earthquake has killed at least 349 people in Iran and Iraq and injured more than 6,000, according to local officials. The vast majority of casualties are in Iran. In Iraq, at least nine people have been confirmed dead and more than 300 injured, according to Iraq’s Ministry of Interior. Iraq is already facing a massive humanitarian crisis in which conflict has driven millions of Iraqis from their homes.
International Medical Corps has worked in Iraq since 2003 and has responded in the aftermath of historic earthquakes such as the 2015 Nepal earthquake, 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.